


The Gift of Time

by Hyrulehearts1123, sageclover61, ThallenCambricaltran



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Bunkers, De-aged Jack Kline, Don't copy to another site, Fluffy, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-11
Updated: 2019-05-11
Packaged: 2020-02-29 20:40:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,503
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18785800
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hyrulehearts1123/pseuds/Hyrulehearts1123, https://archiveofourown.org/users/sageclover61/pseuds/sageclover61, https://archiveofourown.org/users/ThallenCambricaltran/pseuds/ThallenCambricaltran
Summary: Jack got de-aged and a healthy Sastiel conversation ensues.





	The Gift of Time

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Karategrl80](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Karategrl80/gifts).



> Happy Birthday, Karate, enjoy this piece of fluff!
> 
> This piece is divergent/AU of the end of season 12 and season 13. No spoilers because none of us have season seasons 12, 13, or 14.

 

Sam walked in to the living room to see Cas lying on the couch in a soft t-shirt and a pair of sweatpants. Sam thought he’d never get over how breathtaking the angel, his angel, looked. Regardless of what he was wearing, what he was doing, Sam could only see the being he loved as stunning, and could see his goodness, his passion reflected in his eyes like the stars shining across the surface of calm waters. All encompassing, incredibly unknown and powerful, dangerous even, with the unknown depths of the murky water, but also life giving, sustaining, and uplifting in the buoyancy of it’s currents.

 

“Sam.” Hearing his own name fall from the angels lips, rumbled in the deep growling bass of his voice, would never grow old to Sam’s ears.

“Hey Cas.” He whispered back, as he pulled away from the wall he had leaned against in his admiration of the dark haired man. He kept his voice low so as not to disturb the child sleeping draped across his fathers chest. Jack, half-wrapped in a warm blanket, soft as a lamb’s ear, was cocooned securely against Cas by one of his arms. Sam smiled at the pair, and carefully picked his way over to Cas and their son, before sliding partially under Cas until they both managed to fit on the couch’s surface, legs tangling together. Jack stirred once, fingers clenching and relaxing in his sleep, eyelids fluttering gently, before settling back down.

 

“You should sleep too,” Cas rumbled to him. And Sam nodded gently, tucking his head against Cas’ own, but unwilling to close his eyes to the perfect view of his family. Safe, warm, and resting peacefully. Jack’s soft, downy wings waved gently in his sleep, eyelashes fluttering gently, and Sam thought he might be dreaming of flying.

 

“I would, but…” He yawned, interrupting his words for a moment before continuing quietly. “I need to fix this.”

 

“Dean has said I should ‘Not fix what’s not broken’. Is this really something that needs to be fixed?”

 

Sam sighed. “I don’t know. It feels like it should be, but I don’t know how to fix it if it should.” Sam yawned again as he tried to think of how to better express himself.

 

Castiel pressed a kiss to Sam’s forehead. “I think you should sleep. You’re exhausted and that’s not going to help you find the answers you’re looking for.”

 

“I used to pull all nighters all the time, writing papers at Stanford, or researching the monster of the day.” Sam smiled wryly. “Every year it gets a little harder.”

 

“Wasn’t Dean bemoaning, just last week, about how hard the poltergeist threw him across the room?”

 

Sam chuckled humorlessly. “We’re getting old, Cas. And I guess… I’m afraid that if we get too comfortable, something bigger and badder is going to come after us. You have to agree that’s not a good life for a baby. At least before whatever caused this, Jack could defend himself.”

 

“Do _we_ have to face what comes next though? Surely there are others that can defend the world on your behalf. They will have to do it anyway, when the time comes for you both to gain your eternal rest.”

 

“And what will bring about that eternal rest? Huh?” Sam shook his head, and continued before Cas could try to answer the question. “I’m sorry. That’s not what I meant.” He sighed. “Except for the few years I was hiding away at Stanford, I’ve spent almost my whole life believing that this would be how I lived my entire life. Hunting monsters until some monster got the jump on us and that was it.”

 

“My Father made it clear that He wanted us to raise Jack to a proper adulthood. I do not believe that He would give us this task, without having first set in place some way to ensure that we would be able to complete it.”

 

“But why, Cas? Why us? Why now? I’m not even sure how to look after a human infant, but a nephil? Or a fledgling?”

 

There was a soft sigh from Castiel, before another kiss was pressed to Sam’s head. “While I am not one to blindly believe my Father’s words and intentions, I am at the least willing to accept that He wants the best for Jack. Or at the very least, that He thinks us capable of giving Jack the best childhood we can, otherwise He would not have given him back to us.”

 

Sam wasn’t sure what to believe, but he also didn’t _want_ to fight about it, much less find the energy to do so. “You’re _sure_ this is for the best?” he asked, leaning in towards Castiel. He wasn’t looking for Cas to further expand his thoughts on the matter so much as he was hoping that if Cas _was_ absolutely certain, then he could believe in _that_.

 

Cas nodded. “Jack deserves the normal childhood that neither you nor Dean ever got to have and I believe that we can, and should, provide it for him, to the best of our ability.”

* * *

 

Sam was able to sleep with the knowledge that Castiel was certain of his choice. Nothing was final, but Castiel’s certainty had to mean _something_.

 

The hunter woke up to find Castiel still on the couch with him, but the seraph had shifted so that the now babbling winged child was sitting on his chest and he was thumbing through a large binder.

 

Sam didn’t have to ask what the binder was. Shifting for a better view, he was able to determine that it was the photo album that had mysteriously appeared when the nephil had been returned to them by Chuck, albeit much smaller than he had been formerly. He had no idea how a single one of the photos had been taken, though for the most part, he could guess at the when and the where of the event photographed.

 

“Looking for anything specific?” Sam asked.

 

Cas shrugged. “Do people look through their family photo albums for specific pictures?”

 

“I wouldn’t know. I just look through them to identify ghosts.” One of the photos caught Sam’s eye, so he reached out to put his finger on it and keep Cas from continuing to turn the page. Jack, in his young adult body, was facing the “camera”. He was holding a handful of chocolate bars and his face was completely covered in chocolate and he was smiling. “Do you think Jack was genuinely happy at that moment?”

 

“He was being detained, even if he didn’t know that, or what it meant. _We should have been there._ He was all alone in an unfamiliar place and that’s not okay.”

 

“Then we’ll just have to make sure that it doesn’t happen again. At least not when he’s unprepared to handle it.” Sam didn’t know anything about a normal childhood. But he did know that being left alone in an unfamiliar hotel room along for long periods of time was not healthy or safe.

 

Speaking of safety…

 

Sam watched Jack as the young nephil’s wings fluttered once more, pushing air as they moved. “We’re gonna need to kid proof the bunker, aren’t we.”

 

“That would likely be for the best. Young children often find ways to cause harm to themselves without meaning to.”

 

With a laugh, Sam shook his head. “Yeah, it’s not like the bunker is a death trap for a kid or anything. Do we need to kid proof the ceilings too? Would he be able to fly and hurt himself on the lights?”

 

“Not for several years yet.” Cas was smiling, before petting Jack’s wings as the nephil babbled. “As of now, his wings are too small for any kind of sustained flight, and the muscles have not developed to the point where they would be strong enough to lift him. He will be safe enough with standard child protections for several years.”

 

Suddenly, Jack tipped over, startling both Sam and Cas. When Jack seemed to be calm, they watched as the nephil slowly pulled himself up, until he was next to Sam’s head, holding a section of the man’s hair in his tiny fist. Sam was mildly amused as the nephil tugged at his hair, until the tugging was steady. “Cas? What’s he doing?”

 

Silence filled the room, before it was broken by Castiel laughing. A moment passed before he was able to pause, leaning over to look Sam in the eyes. “He’s trying to eat your hair, but he can’t seem to get it in around his fist.”

 

Sam was about to laugh, before he paused. “Wait, is that healthy for him?”

 

“I’m not sure.”

 

A moment passed, before they both jumped into action to free Sam’s hair from the clutches of Jack’s drool factory. They didn’t know how to be good parents yet. But none of them were John Winchester, nor were they going to become him, and that had to be good enough.


End file.
